Bourdain is back, James Joyce turns 10, and more upcoming Baltimore dining events: Thursday - James Joyce Irish Pub and Restaurant is throwing a 10th anniversary party with music by O'Malley's March. The public party starts at 8 p.m., preceded by an invitation-only happy hour at 6 p.m. Thursday - RA Sushi celebrates its 15th anniversary with a 1990s-themed party. The first RA opened in 1997 in Old Town Scottsdale (Ariz.), and now has 25 locations. The RA Sushi in Harbor East will donate 15 percent of all of its profits to the Maryland Food Bank, and all guests will get a 15 percent discount.

Here's a round-up of Baltimore-area restaurants, diners and food-industry personalities that have appeared on various travel, cooking and reality TV shows. Take a look at some memorable moments with Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay. View the full photo gallery here.

Anthony Bourdain is returning to the Hippodrome on Nov. 17. Bourdain, chef-at-large at New York's famed Brasserie Les Halles, is the author of bestsellers “Kitchen Confidential” and “Medium Raw” - blunt and sometimes shocking portraits of life in restaurant kitchens. Bourdain launched the Hippodrome's annual Foodie Experience series back in May 2010, when he shared the theater's stage with his friend Eric Ripert. At that appearance, Bourdain made peace with the Baltimore audience, expressing regret for the disparaging comments made about Baltimore in “Kitchen: Confidential” (I was an “ignorant, pathetic junkie”)

On Friday, "Top Chef All-Stars" winner Richard Blais joins Henry Hong and John Shields on the 1 p.m. hour of Midday with Dan Rodricks (WYPR, 88.1) to discuss recipes and cooking tips that help home chefs step up their game in the kitchen. Blais is the author of "Try This at Home: Recipes From My Head to Your Plate," which has been lavished with praise-filled blurbs from the likes of Andrew Zimmern ("Richard has created a book that I wish I had written - a book that will inspire not only professionals to look at food technique and flavor in a different way, but that any casual cook can work out of each and every day. ")

The very last episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" will offer a taste of both New York and Baltimore. The Baltimore flavor will come by way of "The Wire. " As the Los Angeles Times puts it, Bourdain has frequently "geeked out" about "The Wire" and welcomed any number of its actors onto his food-oriented travel show. David Simon has been on, as has Felicia "Snoop" Pearson. Bourdain has also done some writing for Simon's other HBO project, "Treme. " In the final Travel Channel episode of "No Reservations" that airs Nov. 5, the actor who played Omar, Michael K. Williams, shows Bourdain one of his favorite spots in New York for Caribbean, a place called Gloria's in Crown Heights.

Anthony Bourdain brought his "Guts and Glory" tour to Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on Saturday night. In typical Bourdain fashion, he began his performance with a round of shots. "Guts and Glory" is essentially stand-up comedy about Bourdain's personal relationship with food, his experiences traveling the globe and his opinion of fellow celebrity chefs -- most notably Guy Fieri. With the birth of his daughter, Bourdain said he's shifted his appearance to be more age appropriate.

Anthony Bourdain will join CNN in 2013, the network announced today. The chef, author, actor will host a weekend show focused on food, travel and 'cultures'. CNN has been under much corporate pressure to do something about its ratings, and the news of this hire is that it moves CNN off the news model it has been following for decades. It also appears to cede journalistic control as the show being produced outside CNN. It will be fascinating to see what this means about CNN's commitment to journalism.

Here's a round-up of Baltimore-area restaurants, diners and food-industry personalities that have appeared on various travel, cooking and reality TV shows. Take a look at some memorable moments with Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay. View the full photo gallery here.

Anthony Bourdain was about to say that he was "sorry" for the way he depicted Baltimore on his "No Reservations" show last winter on the Travel Channel. In that piece, he characterized Baltimore as a gritty city as he prowled rundown neighborhoods with characters from "The Wire," ate lake trout at The Roost in West Baltimore and pit beef at Chaps on Pulaski Highway, and chugged bluish cocktails with construction workers at Mo's Seafood in East Baltimore. The episode provoked outrage among some city pundits and bloggers, who thought it dissed the city.

On Friday, "Top Chef All-Stars" winner Richard Blais joins Henry Hong and John Shields on the 1 p.m. hour of Midday with Dan Rodricks (WYPR, 88.1) to discuss recipes and cooking tips that help home chefs step up their game in the kitchen. Blais is the author of "Try This at Home: Recipes From My Head to Your Plate," which has been lavished with praise-filled blurbs from the likes of Andrew Zimmern ("Richard has created a book that I wish I had written - a book that will inspire not only professionals to look at food technique and flavor in a different way, but that any casual cook can work out of each and every day. ")

Anthony Bourdain brought his "Guts and Glory" tour to Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on Saturday night. In typical Bourdain fashion, he began his performance with a round of shots. "Guts and Glory" is essentially stand-up comedy about Bourdain's personal relationship with food, his experiences traveling the globe and his opinion of fellow celebrity chefs -- most notably Guy Fieri. With the birth of his daughter, Bourdain said he's shifted his appearance to be more age appropriate.

When Anthony Bourdain brings his Guts & Glory tour to the Hippodrome on Saturday, it will be a return engagement for the notoriously opinionated "chef-at-large". Bourdain launched the Hippodrome 's annual Foodie Experience series in May 2010, when he shared the theater's stage with his friend, Eric Ripert. This time, Bourdain is working solo, but when we spoke with him in late September, he said that he's grown increasingly comfortable being on the stage. "I'm looking forward to it, "Bourdain said, "I've been doing [stage shows]

Bourdain is back, James Joyce turns 10, and more upcoming Baltimore dining events: Thursday - James Joyce Irish Pub and Restaurant is throwing a 10th anniversary party with music by O'Malley's March. The public party starts at 8 p.m., preceded by an invitation-only happy hour at 6 p.m. Thursday - RA Sushi celebrates its 15th anniversary with a 1990s-themed party. The first RA opened in 1997 in Old Town Scottsdale (Ariz.), and now has 25 locations. The RA Sushi in Harbor East will donate 15 percent of all of its profits to the Maryland Food Bank, and all guests will get a 15 percent discount.

Just when the election is over and you felt a sincere lack of cutthroat competition in your life -- hooray for "Top Chef!" Welcome to Season 10. Let's get it started in hey-ya: Padma (in a fetching white ensemble) explains that 21 chefs will be competing in each of the judges' restaurants to narrow down the competition. Each of our judges -- Tom Colicchio, Hugh Acheson, Emeril Lagasse, and (new this season) Wolfgang Puck -- will have five or six contestants. Each will decide who moves on to the actual competition.

The very last episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" will offer a taste of both New York and Baltimore. The Baltimore flavor will come by way of "The Wire. " As the Los Angeles Times puts it, Bourdain has frequently "geeked out" about "The Wire" and welcomed any number of its actors onto his food-oriented travel show. David Simon has been on, as has Felicia "Snoop" Pearson. Bourdain has also done some writing for Simon's other HBO project, "Treme. " In the final Travel Channel episode of "No Reservations" that airs Nov. 5, the actor who played Omar, Michael K. Williams, shows Bourdain one of his favorite spots in New York for Caribbean, a place called Gloria's in Crown Heights.

Anthony Bourdain is returning to the Hippodrome on Nov. 17. Bourdain, chef-at-large at New York's famed Brasserie Les Halles, is the author of bestsellers “Kitchen Confidential” and “Medium Raw” - blunt and sometimes shocking portraits of life in restaurant kitchens. Bourdain launched the Hippodrome's annual Foodie Experience series back in May 2010, when he shared the theater's stage with his friend Eric Ripert. At that appearance, Bourdain made peace with the Baltimore audience, expressing regret for the disparaging comments made about Baltimore in “Kitchen: Confidential” (I was an “ignorant, pathetic junkie”)

Eric Ripert laughs when he answers questions about the differences between him and Anthony Bourdain. The two will appear Saturday night at the Hippodrome. Bourdain, who was born in New York in 1956, has described the American restaurant kitchens where he trained as lairs of lusty cooks who play by their own rules. Ripert, who was born in France in 1965 and trained there, says he comes from a different tradition. "In the kitchen where I worked, there was discipline, almost like a para-military organization," Ripert says.

Anthony Bourdain is famous for his ground-shifting "Kitchen Confidential" book, for his fearless food travels on his "No Reservations" cable show, and for being a charming loudmouth. His friend Eric Ripert is famous foremost for being a great chef, and, more recently, for his own frequent seatings at the "Top Chef" judges' table. But would two white-haired chefs sitting around talking make for a satisfying evening at the theater? That's what people wanted to know when the Hippodrome announced "An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert," the first in a planned series of food-and-wine events the theater intends to make part of its expanded programming.

Anthony Bourdain will join CNN in 2013, the network announced today. The chef, author, actor will host a weekend show focused on food, travel and 'cultures'. CNN has been under much corporate pressure to do something about its ratings, and the news of this hire is that it moves CNN off the news model it has been following for decades. It also appears to cede journalistic control as the show being produced outside CNN. It will be fascinating to see what this means about CNN's commitment to journalism.

The phone rings, at 9 o'clock on the dot. It's Alton Brown calling in, very promptly, for a pre-arranged interview. "What are you eating," Brown asks, "I can always tell when someone answers the phone with food with in his mouth. " Alton Brown is not afraid to say what's on his mind. That's good news for ticketholders for Saturday night's event at the Hippodrome , the Second Annual Foodie Experience, for which the Food Network personality is the main attraction. At 9 in the morning, Alton Brown is wide awake.